The present invention relates generally to fire safety devices and more particularly to the use of a fire safety device to reduce the incidence of fire resulting from cigarettes and cigars coming in contact with flammable surfaces.
There have been numerous inventions relating to self-extinguishing cigarettes, the control of ashes from smoking materials, and the mechanical separation of smoking materials from flammable surfaces. Such inventions either rely on the addition of fire retardant or extinguishing chemicals to the cigarette tobacoo or paper, or on the attachment by the user of a mechanical device to the cigarette to achieve a similar result. Three examples of the latter technique will be briefly presented to illustrate relevent known art. First, U.S. Pat. No. 2,134,213, "Protective Cigarette Holder," issued to F. Skidmore on Oct. 25, 1938 describes a cigarette holder designed to accomodate cigarettes of several different diameters which is able to keep the lighted end of the cigarette held thereby away from combustible surfaces. The device, which essentially covers the cigaratte over its entire length, must be attached by the smoker to each cigarette in order for it to be utilized, however.
U.S. Pat. No. 889,207, "Cigarette Holder" issued to E. T. Crane on June 2, 1908 teaches a cigarette with an integral paper flap at the mouth end to serve as a holder. It is not intended for use as a fire safety device, although it can be folded against the cigarette for close packing in a container.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 3,102,543, "Safety Tip Cigarette" issued to O'Siel et al. on Sept. 3, 1963 discloses a safety tip cigarette with a metallic foil band near the mouth end. The band is intended to both shrink when heated in order to extinguish the cigarette when the combustion produces high temperatures in the region of the band, and to adhere to surfaces without a significant amount of motion. However, it does not extend significantly in the radial direction and therefore cannot be expected to raise the burning end of the cigarette sufficiently to diminish the fire hazard. Moreover, there is no teaching for positioning the metal band in order that the mouthpiece end of the cigarette has sufficient weight to tilt the burning end about the metal band.
Several references are concerned with analogous art relating to pens and pencils. The object of these inventions is to prevent ink from leaking onto a surface and to prevent rolling, etc.. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,038,738, "Pen And The Like" issued to Paul Jean Forquier on Sept. 17, 1912 discloses a fulcrum at the far end of the pen from the pen tip and a weight for tipping the pen about the fulcrum in such a manner that the pen point will not touch the surface upon which the pen is placed. The projecting fulcrum may be formed integrally with the pen or secured separately.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 1,291,972, "Pencil and Penholder Attachment" issued to M. J. McGuigan on Jan. 21, 1919 teaches an expandable, slotted elastic sleeve which prevents rolling when in the expanded condition, and also permits close packing with the sleeve collapsed. The sleeve is not designed to protect against ink damage which might occur if the pen is accidentally dropped on a surface which can be damaged. In fact, the patent teaches that the sleeve is to be adjusted to lie flat when the pen or pencil is in use, the sleeve thereby providing a grip for the fingers of the user which would not keep the tip away from a surface upon which the pen happened to be dropped.
Accordingly, an object of my invention is to reduce the incidence of contact of burning tobacco and/or hot ashes with flammable, substantially horizontal surfaces onto which a lighted cigarette or cigar is accidentally dropped or mistakenly placed.
Another object of the present invention is to reduce the likelihood that a dropped cigarette or cigar will roll a significant distance on a substantially horizontal surface such as a seat cushion or a mattress and thereby finds its way into the folds or crevices of a couch, chair or bed.
Yet another object of the present invention is to enable the above-described objects to be accomplished without the smoker having to affix anything to the cigarette or cigar.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part of the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.